uh i am apparently only now learning that chitty chitty bang bang is roald dahl's second film adaptation of an ian fleming novel, the first being you only live twice? which is very off-topic but blowing my mind regardless

Re The Exorcist, the scene where they're doing tests on Regan & put something into her neck and blood spurts out always makes me shudder. Realism/physicality I guess. The sound in that scene also plays a role.

It's not generally thought of as a scary film, but the first abduction scene in Communion used to freak the hell out out of me, and still kinda does. I dreaded the alien on the book cover as a child, so maybe watching it was never the best idea.

But I do like the somewhat surreal, dream-like approach is takes in regard to the experience, which is a nice contrast to the literal-mindedness of most UFO/abduction depictions on film and TV. There's the sense of intrusion from some "other", akin to the Diner monster in Mulholland Drive and the subway/passing car people in Jacob's Ladder.

Perhaps not as surreal but certainly justc as scary is the alien abduction flashback from Fire in the Sky. The movie itself is mediocre but that sequence could stand on its own as one of the greatest sci-fi horror shorts ever made. It masterfully captures the pure animal terror of being treated like a lab rat by beings with unfathomable motives.